Starting mechanism for internal combustion engines



Sept. 23, 1941. JP. CULLIN 2,256,466

STARTING MECHANISM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed July 3, 1940 2Sheets-Sheetl Ira/@2270? Jas vsa ffiziizh Sept. 23, 1941. J. F. CULLIN2,256,466

STARTING MECHANISM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed July 5, 1940 2Sheets-Sheet 2 gearing is avoided; in which the gearing is posiother DEachspawl is P ed with an intively disengaged when the engine isstarted; and teg-ral extension 26 which functions as a counterwhich iscompact and light in construction. balance to normally hold the pawldisengaged Other objects of the invention will appear from from ratchetl6. When the electric motor I2 is the detail description. operated andthe pawls are held in engagement The invention consists in the severalnovel feawith ratchet-wheel l6 they operate alternately to tures whichare hereinafter set forth andare rotate the ratchet-wheel at a high ge rratio. more particularly defined by claims at the coneachone-halfrevolution of each eccentric imclusion hereof. parting movement to theratchet-wheel I6 9, dis- In the drawings: Fig. 1 is an end elevation oftance corresponding to the spacing between the starting mechanismembodying the invention; teeth of wheel [6. r .Fig. 2 is a sideelevation, the gear-case being The operation of the pawlsis controlledby a shown in section; Fig. 3 is atransverse section on pair of arms 28and 29 which are formed of line 3--3 of Fig. 2, the starting mechanismbeing spring-metal and are normally positioned to alshown in itsoperative position; Fig. 4 is a horilow the counterweights 26 to liftteeth 25.5 of zontal section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 thepawls out of engagement with the ratchetisa section showing the startingmechanism diswheel 16. These arms are manually shiftable UNITED STSTARTING MECHANISM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Jasper F. Cullin,Detroit, Mich, 'assignor' of twothirds to Lou Mervis, Lock Haven, Pa.

Application July 3, 1940, Serial No. 343,762

12 Claims. (01. 7 1-116) i The invention relates to starters forinternal vided with a tooth-25. adapted tosuccessively "Tea-ICEcombustion engines. engage the teeth of ratchet-wheel 16. The set- Theobjects of the invention are to provide a ting of the eccentrices 180"apart causes the pawls starting mechanism which is adapted for operatoalternately impart strokes for rotating the tion at a high gear ratiorelatively to the crank ratchet-wheel; the operative stroke beingimpartshaft; .in which the possibility of locking of the ed to one pawlduring the retractile stroke of the engaged; Fig. 6 is a section on line6-6 of Fig. 5; to engage pawls with said wheel and to hold them Fig. 7is a diagrammatic view of the electrical 5 in engagement therewithduring the operation of connections for the electric starting motor andthe eccentrices. Resilient arms 28, 29 are fixed .the control circuits;Fig. 8 is a section illustrating .to a controller-shaft 36 which carriessaid arms the shaft of the electric starting motor and a inside of thegear-case ll, extends through the modified form of the invention inwhich the ecside wall of said case to the outside thereof and centricesare driven by the motor through a is provided with a h ndle 3 whichmaybe 10- resilient or cushioned connection. cated at an point withinconvenient reach of The invention is exemplified with the shaft [0 .theoperator and connected to rock shaft 30. Roof an internal combustionengine which may be tation of shaft 36 will shift arms 28, 29 and of anytype. A gear-case ll encloses one end of ga e pawls 23, 24 andratchet-wheel I6 and the crank shaft and the gearing for driving thewill release them for disengage e t from said crank shaft from anelectric motor I2. The axis wheel by the counterweights 26 on-thepawls.v

of the shaft l3 of motor I2 is parallel to the axis Shaft 30 alsocontrols the operation of the moof the engine-shaft In. The casing ofthe motor tor li for operating eccentrices l8, I9, thr h a i2 isprovided with a flange I2 which is secured cam 32 which is adapted toopen andclose a by bolts 15 to one side of the gear-case II. The switchwhich is mounted on the outside of crankinner end of the motor-casingand the shaft [3 case H and comp Contacts 34 Which a e extends into theear-case ll. insulated from each other, normally disengaged Aratchet-wheel I6 is mounted on the engineand adapte to be engaged bysaid cam to close shaft M to drive said shaft in one direction a circuitfor causing the motor I2 to operate. through an overrunning clutch l1. 7This switch is opened and closed by shaft 30 to The mechanism fordriving shafti6 from elecconJ' y control the motor and arms 28, 29

tric motor l2 to start the engine comprises a for controlling pawls 23,24. Contact 33 is conpair of eccentrices l8 and I9 which are keyed tonected by a conductor 35 to battery 36. Contact th shaft l3 of motor l2and are positioned so 34' is connected by a conductor 31 to the helixtheir throws will be 180 apart. The eccentrices of a solenoid magnet 38which operates a switchare spaced apart and held against longitudinalmember 39 for engaging contacts 40, Al to close movement on shaft [3 bywashers 20 and 2| and a circuit through motor l2 from conductor 35, anut 22 which is threaded to the outer end of switch-member 39 andconductor 44. The motor shaft l3. Pawls 23 and 24 are respectivelyjourand battery are usually grounded to the frame naled on eccentricesl8, l9. Each pawlis proof the vehicle, as well understood in the art.

3B and open the motor-circuit at switch 39 and.

stop the motor, and then shift arms 28, 29 for disengaging them from theratchet-wheel. stop 46 is provided to limit the throw of shaft 30 andhandle 3|. The spacing between contacts 33, 34, when shaft 30 is in itsnormal position, and the starter is inoperative, is such that the pawlswill be shifted into engagement with the ratchet in advance of theclosing of the circuit for the operation of the starting motor l2. Thearms 28, 29 force the pawls into engagement with the ratchet-wheelbefore the motor-circuit is closed. This causes strong pressure to beapplied to the pawls before motor l2 commences to operate in startingand inversely shuts off the current from the motor before the pawls arereleased. The housing of solenoid-magnet 38 is secured at 48 to theoutside of gear-case II.

When the starter is used with lighter types of engines the overrunningclutch Il may be omitted and the ratchet-wheel secured directly to thecrankshaft I!) so that the engine will be at all times locked againstthe inertia of a backfire which usually occurs very near the end of theup-stroke. The power then exerted is comparatively low and the pawlswill lock the ratchet against reverse rotation.

In heavier types of engines it is sometimes desirable to cushion thestarting mechanism and, for this purpose, the construction shown in Fig.'7 is used. In this construction the eccentrices are keyed to a sleeve59 which is rotatable on shaft I3, a collar 5| is keyed to shaft l3 anda coilspring, 52 has its ends connected as at 53 and 54 to sleeve 50 andcollar 5i, respectively. This provides a cushioned driving connectionbetween the motor [2 and the pawls in starting heavy engines.

The overrunning clutch H is preferably used with heavy engines to allowthe engine to turn after it starts and before the pawls are disengagedfrom ratchet It to avoid the riding of the pawls over the notches in theratchet-wheel between the time the engine starts and the starting switchis opened. This eliminates the noise incident to any delay in stoppingthe'starting motor.

Theinvention exemplifies a starter for internal combustion engines whichavoids any locking between gears, effects positive disengagement of thepawls and ratchet-wheel when stopping the starting motor, operates theengine-shaft, at a very high gear ratio, is compact, light in weight,and; simple in construction.

The. invention is not to be understood as restricted to: the details setforth, since these may be modified within the scope of the appendedclaims, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with starting mechanism for internal combustionengines, comprising a ratchetrwheel connected to drive the crank shaftand engine, an electric motor, eccentrices driven by the motor, andpawls journaled on said eccentrices for driving the wheel,- of resilientmeans for shifting the pawls into engagement with the wheel, a switchfor controlling the motor, a control-shaft, on which the pawl shiftingmeans is mounted, and switch-controlling means on said control-shaft.

2. The combination with starting mechanism for internal combustionengines, comprising a ratchet-wheel connected to drive the crank shaftof an engine, an electric motor comprising a shaft mounted in parallelrelation with the crank shaft, eccentrices on, and driven by, saidmotorshaft, and pawls journaled on said eccentrices for driving thewheel, of a manually operable control-shaft, resilient arms on saidcontrol-shaft for shifting the pawls into engagement with said wheel,and means on the control shaft for controlling the operation of themotor.

3. The combination with starting mechanism for internal combustionengines, comprising a ratchet-wheel connected to drive the crank shaftof an engine, an electric motor comprising a shaft mounted in parallelrelation with the crank shaft, eccentrices on, and driven by, saidmotorshaft, and pawls journaled on said eccentrices for driving thewheel and provided with counterweights, of a manually operablecontrol-shaft parallel to the motor-shaft, resilient arms on saidcontrol-shaft for shifting the. pawls into engagement with said wheel,and means for controlling the operation of the motor.

4. The combination with starting mechanism for internal combustionengines, comprising a ratchet-wheel connected to drive the crank shaftof an engine, an electric motor comprising a shaft mounted in parallelrelation with the crank shaft, eccentrices. on, and driven by, saidmotorshaft, and pawls journaled on said eccentrices for driving thewheel, of a manually operable control-shaft parallel to the motor-shaft,resilient arms'on said control-shaft for shifting the pawls intoengagement with said wheel, and means on the control-shaft forcontrolling the operation of the motor.

.5. The combination with starting mechanism for internal combustionengines, the combination. of a ratchet-wheel connected to drive thecrank shaft of an engine, pawls for engaging and operating said wheel,eccentrices on which the pawls are journal'ed for operating the pawls,and anelectric motor comprising a shaft for driving the eccentrices, ofmanually operable means for ngaging the pawls with the wheel, and meansfor controlling the operation of the motor, comprising a switchcontrolled by said manually operable means, and an electromagneticswitch.

6'. The combination with an engine starter comprising a ratchet wheeladapted to drive the engine, a'drive shaft, eccentrices on, and adaptedto be driven by, the drive shaft and pawls journaledon the eccentricesfor rotating the ratchet wheel, of automatically acting means on thepawls for holding them disengaged from the ratchet wheel, and manuallyoperable means for shifting the pawls to engage the ratchet andcontrolling the operation of the ratchet- 7. The combination with anengine starter comprising a ratchet wheel adapted to drive the engine,adrive shaft, eccentrices on, and adapted to be driven by, the driveshaft and pawls journaled on the eccentrices for rotating the ratchetwheel, of automatically acting means on the pawls for holding themdisengaged from the ratchet wheel, resilient means for pressing thepawls into engagement with the ratchet wheel, and manually operablemeans for shifting the resilient means and engaging the pawls with theratchet and for controlling the operation of the ratchet by the pawls.

8. The combination with an engin starter comprising a ratchet wheeladapted to drive the engine, a driv shaft, eccentrices on, and adaptedto be driven by, the drive shaft, and pawls journaled on the eccentricesfor rotating the ratchet wheel, of weights on the pawls forautomatically holding them disengaged from the ratchet wheel, resilientmeans for pressing the pawls into engagement with th ratchet wheel, andmanually operable means for shifting the resilient means trices aresecured, weights on the pawls for holding them normally disengaged fromthe ratchet wheel, a rotatable shaft substantially parallel with theshaft to which the eccentrices ar secured, and resilient strips fixed tosaid shaft for shifting the pawls into engagement with the for engagingthe pawls with and for controlling the operation of the ratchet.

9. The combination with an engine starter comprising a ratchet wheeladapted to drive the engine, pawls for rotating said wheel, eccentriceson which the pawls are journaled, and a drive shaft to which theeccentrices are secured, 0f automatically acting means on the pawls fordisengaging them from the ratchet wheel, a rotatable shaft substantiallyparallel with the shaft to which the eccentrices are secured, andresilient strips secured to said shaft for shifting the pawls intoengagement with the ratchet wheel.

10. An engine starter comprising a ratchet wheel adapted to drive theengine, pawls for r0- tating said wheel, eccentrices on which the pawlsare journaled, a drive shaft to which the eccenratchet wheel.

11. The combination with an engine starter comprising a ratchet wheeladapted to drive the engine, pawls for rotating said wheel, eccentriceson which the pawls are journaled, and a motordriven drive shaft on whichthe pawls ar secured, of means for holding the pawls disengaged from theratchet, resilient means for shifting the pawls and holding them inengagement with the ratchet wheel, a control shaft substantially paral-161 with the drive shaft, the resilient means being connected to saidcontrol shaft, and means on the control shaft for controlling a switchfor controlling the operation of the drive shaft.

12. The combination with an engine starter comprising a ratchet wheeladapted to drive the engine, a drive shaft, eccentrices on the driveshaft, pawls for rotating said wheel journaled on the eccentrices, of amanually operable control shaft substantially parallel with the driveshaft, means for automatically holding the pawls disengaged from theratchet, and resilient strips having their inner ends fixed on thecontrol shaft for engaging the pawls and holding them engaged with theratchet wheel.

JASPER F. CULLIN.

